The movie character Michelle Pfeiffer wanted to emulate: “I’d like to be more like her”
Grease 2 isn’t as bad as you remember—‘Reproduction’ is an absolute banger—but it’s safe to say that few people came out of it in a stronger position than they were going in, except Michelle Pfeiffer. The then-unknown star, who played Sandy-substitute Stephanie Zinone, was able to translate her performance in the doomed musical into one hell of a career. Now, she’s way more famous than Maxwell Caulfield. Who’s that, you ask? Exactly.
Pfeiffer has played some truly titanic characters since she first starred in the much-derided sequel. There’s Elvira Hancock, wife of Brian De Palma’s titular character in Scarface, LouAnne Johnson, the Marine-turned-inner-city-teacher in Dangerous Minds, and Hope Van Dyne, the original incarnation of ‘The Wasp’ in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, when it comes to the parts the actor herself most identifies with, it’s not the gangster wife or a superhero but the humble lounge singer.
In 1989, Pfeiffer spoke to Pop Culture Classics about her then upcoming film, The Fabulous Baker Boys. The movie concerns the two title characters, Jack and Frank Baker, played by real-life brothers Jeff and Beau Bridges, respectively. Pfeiffer plays Susie Diamond, a singer who joins the brothers’ middling musical act in the hope of launching her career. Instead, she ends up involved in a romantic angle that threatens to destroy their burgeoning success.
“I’d like to be more like her,” Pfeiffer said of her screen persona. “I’m pretty courageous in my career, but I tend to take the safe route with my personal life. I wanted to bring the daring side of myself out more, and I thought I could do it through her.” Though Susie is much younger than her two colleagues, she doesn’t take no for an answer. The former sex worker won the brothers over with a memorable impression during her initial audition, despite being late. Her unabashed confidence is one of the many reasons why she can turn her act around. Her striking performance of ‘Makin’ Whoppee’, lying seductively atop a grand piano, left a big impression on audience members, fictional and real alike.
“I’m not the kind of person who is going to walk into a room and take charge of it as Susie would,” the star admitted. “It was really difficult to find that place in myself and bring it out. I’m the kind of person who’d walk into the room, find the nearest corner and hope that nobody would notice me, so I could just wait it out until it was time to go home.”
This revelation might come as a shock to fans of the decorated performer, who is known for her feisty characters. However, one need only look at her portrayal of Catwoman in Batman Returns to see both sides of her personality. Prior to her transformation into the femme fatale, Pfeiffer’s Selina Kyle is a timid and unassuming secretary. Then, once she gets shoved out of a window, the claws are out and the black leather is on.
Roles like Susie Diamond clearly gave Pfeiffer the confidence to explore sides of herself on film that she never would in real life. Her versatility and bravery as an actor are some of the many reasons why she’s enjoyed such a long and illustrious career, and why nobody of a certain age can ever look at a piano innocently ever again.
